NANA TO GRACE THE STAGE OF MADLENIANUM ONCE AGAIN

Premiere Revival: 1 December at 19:30h

Reruns: 13 December and 11 January

Large Stage of MADLENIANUM

A French classic, a masterpiece by Émile Zola, NANA, directed by Ivana Vujic, which had its first premiere in November 2019, returns to the Large Stage on December 1st, with rerun performances on December 13th and January 11th. “This is the only Zola on our stages in Belgrade, and it is wise to have a premiere revival of the play. For us, he is an endlessly interesting writer, exploring one family, he conducted an analysis of French society of that time that is still relevant today”, said the director during a press conference on the opening of the 26th season.

Not enough times performed saga about the corruption of society during the transition from one empire to another, the drama NANA, featuring Tamara Aleksic in the lead role, is returning to the stage under the direction of Ivana Vujic with a somewhat modified ensemble. The intriguing story of the whirlwind of passion, surrender, human desire, and immorality is a relevant theme in nowadays. In the character of Nana, a courtesan disguised as an actress, the play skilfully portrays every woman's impulse for love and security, her dreams, hopes, and hidden desires, as well as a cry for attention and acceptance. The dramatization of Émile Zola novel Nana was done by Spasoje Z. Milovanovic, with Slavenka Milovanovic as the dramaturge, Aleksandra Kovac as the composer, Vesna Popovic as the set designer, Miodrag Tabacki as the costume designer, Marija Milenkovic in charge of stage movement, and Ljiljana Mrkic Popovic of stage speech.

The play ended with a scene revealing that the beautiful main protagonist had succumbed to smallpox, and immediately after, loud and painful cries reached the audience, announcing the call to war. From this four-year distance, this vision of a world disintegrating into immorality and insatiable desire for material and status seems almost prophetic. In the cast of Nana in 2019, was bard of our theatre, Vlasta Velisavljevic, but in 2021, the pandemic took him from us, sending him to the heavenly stage. In memory of this wonderful actor, whom Ivana Vujic spoke about at the conference telling that “Nana is a substantial play with a large ensemble, from the youngest actors to the doyens, and among them was Vlasta Velisavljevic, that was his last role, and we are truly happy to have worked with him, lived with him, and rejoiced with him”, adding that Madlenianum is, due to care for its productions, a very serious, wise, and responsible house.

That marvelous unfortunate girl, who elevates herself materially from the social bottom and reaches the extravagant life of a theatrical star, actually spiritually collapses by selling herself, while within her, love for her little illegitimate son glows as a counterbalance to the darkness that engulfs her life. In the play Nana by Ivana Vujic, with Tamara Aleksic in the title role, the audience is presented with a classic literary masterpiece in a fresh and modern way. Through a sincere and profound artistic approach, eternal themes take on new forms necessary for the development of theatre and for a deeply cathartic connection with contemporary spectators. In this opulent theatrical work, the new actors in the cast include: Nikola Rakocevic, Borjanka Ljumovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Andrijana Djordjevic, while from the previous ensemble, we have Nebojsa Kundacina, Rade Cosic, Vukasin Jovanovic, Dimitrije Ilic, Vanja Milacic, Stojsa Oljacic and Anja Orelj.